Voltron
is a giant mecha robot from the 1980s cartoon series: Defender of the Universe.
Thanks to the Impulse company, we have todays featured toy camera. What a
beauty he his. Able to transform from a cool Japanese anime robot, to a fake
35 mm film shooter. Although the main lens on the front is fake, inside the body of this robot, is a 110 film shooter. Aside from being one of the
coolest cameras I have ever come across, it does take pictures fitting of the toy camera genre. The camera is very easy
to use, as you can only push the shutter button, and advance the film using a
thumbwheel. It does have a socket for Magicube flashes, but I did not have any
to test. Without the flash, indoor shots are pretty much out of range. Getting
110 film is also getting harder to come by. Once a staple for all small
instamatics and toy store cameras, it is slowly fading away. I found a supply
of drugstore branded film at the local Walgreens. Color 200 ISO was my only
choice. Since 110 film makes a negative size of only 13mm x 17mm, enlargments
are pretty much out of the question. There is quite a bit of grain on the 4.5 x
3.5 inch prints that came back from the lab. There was no in-house developing available
at my lab either. They had to send the film out and it took about 2 weeks to
return. In summary, if you can locate one of these at a decent price, they are
worth adding to the collection. Even if you don’t shoot with it, it’s a
gorgeous shelf sitter and conversation piece for your toyhead friends to envy. * 110 film can now be bought thru www.lomography.com

Friday, October 25, 2013

"WTCD 2013"
October 19th 2013 was once again World Toy Camera Day. The day originated quite a few years ago by Becky Romotowski. This image was shot on some expired film with my Lomo Sprocket Rocket Camera.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

"PhotoFlex MX-35"
Thanks to my friend Gilbert and his mother Leslie, I have this new camera called the PhotoFlex MX-35. Its a variation model of the plastic Time (magazine) camera. They were built to look like 35mm SLR cameras but do not operate as such. The camera has a 50mm plastic lens that is fixed focus. You can adjust the aperture to F6,8,11, and 16 if the lens markings are correct. The camera does have a hot shoe so you can use a flash unit if you like. For this test I loaded up some expired supermarket branded film. Very easy camera to operate and I like my first results.

Friday, March 08, 2013

"Camera Obscura" by Abelardo Morell
Abe make some great photos by converting rooms into camera obscuras. He blocks out all the light with plastic over the windows and leaves a small pinhole opening in one of them. The resulting outside landscape is then projected onto the room walls and furnishings. Abe uses a large format camera setup inside the room to capture the images in the book. Some exposures lasting up to 8 hours!

"Photographs" by Rocky Schenck
Rocky's images in this book are dream like. He manipulates both the film negative and the prints surface. He says the images are "illustrations of my conscious (and perhaps subcoscious) dreams, emotions, and longings.....

"Explorations Along An Imaginary Coastline" by Martha Casanave
Gorgeous photos that capture some nice wide angle, distorting views from her 4x5 pinhole camera. The long exposures and sometimes solitary figures create some stunning imagery.

"Within Shadows" by Susan Burnstine
One of my favorite photo books of all time. Susan has been a photo friend of mine for quite a few years now going back to the first issue of Light Leaks magazine. The book is gorgeous and remarkable. The quote inside from Carl Jung sums it up nicely- :Who looks outside, dreams: who looks inside, awakes." This is a must have for your collections.

Friday, February 22, 2013

"Belair X 6-12"
Finally got around to testing out the new Lomo Belair X 6-12 camera. For this test I went wide and used the 58mm lens with the 6x12 mask. You get 6 shots on a roll of 120 film this way. This camera has an auto exposure mode. It basically is aperture priority with your choices of F8 or F16. No manual shutter speed selection except bulb. Typical zone focusing and you can select your films ISO speed. Other features include a tripod mount, hot shoe, and an additonal 90mm lens. There are 3 film masks to choose which format you want to shoot. 6x6, 6x9, and 6x12. I bought the City Slicker version which has the basic cosmetic trim. With the lens collapsed, it slides nicely into my bag. Takes some good holding technique to keep the camera still during shooting. The viewfinder was decent, just make sure you are using the proper one that matches your lens choice. Pretty fun camera if you like folders with the choice of formats and 2 lenses.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Check out Adore Noir magazine. Full of great interviews and stunning photography. Not all is film based, but a large portion of it is. They are also looking for portfolios. Chris Kovacs has made a winner here. From their home page-

Adore
Noir is the world's first black & white, fine art photography, PDF based,
E-magazine. We publish bi-monthlynand feature the works and Q&A interviews
of six photographers per issue, along with articles covering a wide range of
topics such as: Art vs Science.

When your
purchase is complete a download link will be automatically emailed to you.

Please be
sure to check your spam folder if you cannot find the email.

If you are
downloading directly to iPhone or iPad and want to save the PDF you must have
iBooks or Good Reader installed on your device.

We aim to
be an inspiration to anyone interested in photography and the arts.

Friday, November 16, 2012

"Holga Micro-110 Camera"
Finally tested one of Holga's smallest cameras- the Micro 110. Since 110 film is gaining some popularity due to the new films by Lomography.com, now is the chance to give one a try. I picked up the 110 camera from the good people at Four Corners Store The camera literally fits in the palm of your hand. Snap a roll of 110 film onto the back, advance the thumb wheel, and trip the shutter button. That's all there is. I used some expired Walgreens film for this test. You get a lot of grain working with these small negatives, but can be nice in the right situations. Lomography has fresh 110 film in stock and I get my 110 film processed by the good people at Old School Photo Lab

Using this camera is as easy as stealing a
juice box from your nephew. You can go 007 with this baby since it looks like a
typical child’s juice box. It’s also as basic as you get with a toy/plastic
camera. It has a simple viewfinder, thumbwheel film advance, and a secret straw
type shutter button. For this test, I popped open the back door and loaded some
color 35mm 400 iso film. After advancing the film with the thumbwheel, you just
take a peek thru the viewfinder and push down on the straw shutter button.
There is also film counter window to keep track of what frame you are on. When
you trip the shutter a small lens cover slides out of the way before the
picture is taken. It’s all part of the disguise! That’s about all there is to
this camera. Small, easy to toss in the camera bag, and takes some fairly decent
pictures. They make a bunch of different style drink labels to choose from. I
bought mine from the good people at the Four Corners Store. http://www.fourcornerstore.com/

Friday, July 27, 2012

I just purchased the Debonair from the gang over at The Film Photography Project The Debonair is kind of a hybrid Diana Holga camera. Lens is very Holga like and the body/back is very Diana like. It takes 16 6x4.5 cm sized shots on a roll 120 film. The box says it was made in Hong Kong and calls it the model 819. I have seen this camera around for some time now, but the Film Photography Project are selling it for 19.99! They even threw in a free roll of film. Going to take this camera on a little trip next week, stay tuned for sample pics.

Saturday, July 07, 2012

"Lomo Fisheye Baby 110"
Some more samples from this new Lomo camera. Shot on Lomo Orca 110 film. See previous post for full camera review. Developed and scanned by the good people at http://www.oldschoolphotolab.com/